


Habits

by Ash573



Category: Fence (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25685683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash573/pseuds/Ash573
Summary: Seiji doesn’t have a habit for picking fights and getting into detention. Nick does. Yet one day they find themselves in detention together.
Relationships: Nicholas Cox/Seiji Katayama
Comments: 22
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so I'm sorry if its kinda bad lol. Enjoy!

Seiji had started off his morning in a bad mood. His early practice with Dmytro hadn’t gone as well as usual since he was exhausted, his shower had been cold because of Nicholas’s tendency to use all the hot water, and he had a shit ton of homework. One more thing was all it would take to make Seiji lose control. 

On Seiji’s way to his first period, he heard two boys talking much too loud for seven a.m. The boys were overlooking a grassy field littered with students walking to their first periods, but they seemed to be looking at one student in particular. 

“He’s gotta be a scholarship kid,” the boy with brown hair said to his friend. 

Seiji froze momentarily on the path. He saw where the two boys in front of him were staring. The subject of their conversation was Nicholas Cox. Seiji felt something in his stomach tighten at the mention of his roommate. 

“No shit,” the other boy said, “he didn’t know how to wear the uniform for a week. I bet he asked his roommate to tie his tie too.”

Nicholas hadn’t needed the help with his tie, but Seiji hated the way they spoke about Nicholas, like they knew him. The only thing they seemed to know about Nicholas was his appearance and his scholarship, two things Seiji didn’t deem enough to know someone. 

The first bell rang, which would have usually caused Seiji to panic since he was nowhere near his class, but he had accepted that he would see whatever this was through until the end. 

Nicholas was far enough away that he couldn’t hear anything the two boys said and was walking into the English building blissfully unaware. 

“I’m surprised he even made it this far into the year,” the first boy said, “he’s on a fencing scholarship but I’ve heard he’s only a reserve. They don’t even need him. He’s just taking up space.”

“God, that’s embarrassing. For him and for us. My parents paid good money to get me in here, yet they let someone with mediocre talent at such a boring sport as fencing get in for free? I wonder what the team thinks of him. I’ll have to ask Aiden on our date on Saturday. I bet I can pull something out of him after.”

Seiji lost the thin thread of control he’d been holding onto. He stalked up towards the two boys. Seiji considered himself well spoken, polite if not sociable, and reserved. He was seemingly none of those things in that moment and he didn’t care. “You want to know what the team thinks of Nicholas? I’ll tell you,” Seiji began. 

Both of the boys’ eyes widened. “You’re Seiji—“

Seiji crossed his arms. “Yes. I’m Seiji Katayama. And the “scholarship kid” you are referring to is Nicholas Cox.” Seiji briefly thought of Nicholas being happy that Seiji referred to him by his name and not Zero. Seiji continued, “ _ You _ have no right to say anything about our team, as you are not on it, but I’ll tell you this: our team doesn’t care if Nicholas Cox is from the wealthiest family in Connecticut or if he has a scholarship. He earned his place on our team as I did.”

Seiji must have stepped closer to the boys some time when he’d been speaking, but he didn’t dare move back now. The words had spilled out of him effortlessly, without thought. Seiji meant every word.

One of the boys laughed and spoke to his friend. As if Seiji wasn’t there. “How pathetic. Nicholas Cox has  _ Seiji Katayama _ , of all people, wrapped around his finger—“

Seiji also considered himself respectful, patient, and calm, but he abandoned all of those traits in an instant for the swift gratification of violence. His fist hit the brown-haired boy’s cheek clean and he went tumbling into his friend. Pain spread through Seiji’s knuckles. 

“Fuck you, Katayama,” the boy spat and lunged for Seiji. 

If Seiji wasn’t so fueled by anger he would have thought it funny that this boy had decided to fight him with such a poor demonstration of skill. Seiji easily avoided the boy’s advancement with his fists and watched him lose momentum. 

It was only when both boys went up against Seiji that he was hit. The first boy had forced the breath from his lungs after ramming a fist into Seiji’s stomach. He fumbled back but caught his balance, though he didn’t quite manage to catch his breath. Seiji swung again, this time at the second boy and his knuckle collided with his jaw. 

Seiji didn’t have time to turn his attention to the first boy before he felt a force slam into his cheek and nose. Seiji gaped at the aggressive punch. He’d never been punched before. Blood dripped down from his nose but he stood his ground against the two. 

Before Seiji could hit back, he heard a loud whistle. The sound of it alone made Seiji’s stomach drop. He’d never been one to get into trouble of any kind. Campus security was running towards them. 

Seiji swore under his breath and dropped his fists. The other two boys did the same. They were all going to play victim, Seiji knew. 

“What is the meaning of this?” An old man in a navy Kings Row staff uniform glared at all three of them. Seiji felt his face flush. How could he justify this? He had swung first. 

“Sir,” Seiji began with as calm a tone as he could manage, “these two boys were insulting another Kings Row student. They were ridiculing him because he obtained a scholarship. I read in the school’s rulebook that insults regarding a student’s financial information are considered verbal abuse that will not be tolerated on campus or via social media.” 

Seiji had indeed read the rulebook, but he knew physical assault was just as untolerated too. He decided not to mention that part. 

“Grab your things and follow me,” the security guard ordered all three of the boys. Seiji saw his staff badge said the name Mr. Brown. 

They walked behind Mr. Brown towards Principal Eisler’s office in the administration building. There weren’t many students walking about because the period had already begun, but Seiji just so happened to see Nicholas walking out of the administration building and staring in his direction. 

Seiji looked at the ground as he walked closer to him, hoping Nicholas wouldn’t see him or his bloody nose. Or ask any questions about why he’d lost his temper.

They walked inside the administration building so Seiji lifted his head and tried to dab the blood from his face but it was useless with nothing to wipe it on. 

He calmed down surprisingly quickly. Seiji’s head was level now, though looking at the two boys trailing behind him still made him want to fight. He didn’t regret what he did. Maybe that’s why Seiji was so shocked. He always assumed that if his temper ever got this out of control he’d be regretful.

Yet Seiji couldn’t be regretful when those words had been said against Nicholas. 

Seiji and the other two boys were first taken to the nurse’s office and given ice packs, though Seiji, who befriended the school nurse after introducing himself the first week, got tissues as well. He had figured befriending the nurse, Ms. Roberts, would be best if he ever injured himself from fencing, not from a fight, but either way she smiled warmly— with a hint of surprise and of pity— at him. Seiji thanked Ms. Roberts while the other two boys just walked out. 

Seiji used the restroom in the nurse’s office to wipe his face. He got a text from Nicholas asking what happened, but Seiji ignored it. He’d deal with telling Nicholas an excuse later. In the meantime though, Seiji texted Aiden, something he’d never thought he’d do willingly, and told him to cancel his date. The guy had been an asshole and as much as Seiji didn’t approve of Aiden’s constant flings, the asshole didn’t deserve to spend time with anyone from the team. To Seiji’s surprise, Aiden answered with a thumb’s up emoji. Getting Aiden to drop his Saturday night date was strangely easy. 

Seiji ran his fingers through his hair that had gotten disheveled during the fight. After his face was clean of blood and he looked collected enough to see the principal, he was escorted by Mr. Brown to Principal Eisler’s office. Seiji sat in the chair opposite Principal Eisler and waited for her to begin.

“Hello, Seiji,” she said. “What I heard from Mr. Brown is that you, Matthew, and Ezra got into a physical fight. They have already told me their accounts of what happened. I would like to hear yours.”

Seiji nodded and told her what happened. He felt strangely exposed when explaining to Principal Eisler that he was defending Nicholas, but he told her everything nonetheless. 

“Very well, Seiji,” she said, “I gave Matthew and Ezra detention for bullying another student and I have no choice but to give you detention for starting the fight, though I am... pleased to see you defending your roommate’s place at this school. However, I’m going to have to call your parents and inform them about this. You are dismissed. Please come to detention after school in the cafeteria.”

Seiji nodded and left with a red detention slip in his hands. He’d never been in trouble before and certainly hadn’t been in detention. His father would be furious at him, he knew. Seiji could practically hear his father’s voice telling him that picking a fight was foolish because he could get injured, he could get expelled, or be kicked off the fencing team. But he didn’t regret the fight still. 

He remembered Nicholas’s impressive speed at tryouts, and his smile when it was announced he made the team, and his constant practice to improve his tense shoulders. Nicholas deserved to be here at Kings Row and on their team. 

Seiji was glad to pay the price to let everyone know it. 

But something kept bothering Seiji as he thought back to the fight.  _ How pathetic. Nicholas Cox has Seiji Katayama, of all people, wrapped around his finger.  _

He’d never explicitly thought of his relationship with Nicholas… like that. He’d ignored any thoughts regarding his feelings towards Nicholas, outside of fencing. But, Seiji realized, it was becoming harder to sustain the habit of ignoring thoughts of Nicholas.


	2. Chapter 2

Nick had been thinking about Seiji for the entire period. It had been over an hour since he saw Seiji and he hadn’t responded to Nick’s text. It was already easy for Nick to ignore his English teacher’s lecture on outlining a research essay but it was even easier to ignore it when all he could think about was Seiji’s bloodied face.

Nick had known Seiji had a temper. The storage closet incident and Nick’s split lip afterwards had proven that much. But in a way that was different. Nick and Seiji had been antagonizing each other nonstop for the three weeks of try outs-- a physical outlet was more or less inevitable between them.

A fight though? One bad enough that had ended in Seiji’s bloody face wasn’t at all something Nick ever thought would happen. That kind of fight was something Nick expected of himself. Seiji was usually so quiet and reserved unless Nick riled him up.

Finally the bell rang and the lecture ended. He had third period with Seiji. He could ask Seiji what happened then.

But Nick never made it to third period. He was walking across campus to his next class when he heard two boys behind him talking about none other than Seiji Katayama.

“Did you hear that Seiji Katayama got into a fight?” The first boy asked.

Nick turned back to see who they were and he recognized their faces from tryouts, but couldn’t remember their names.

“Seriously? No shit. He’s so quiet in class,” the second said.

Nicholas continued to listen, thinking he’d learn why Seiji got in a fight.

The first boy scoffed. “That’s cause he’s an arrogant asshole. I’m glad he keeps his mouth shut. Seiji walks around thinking he’s the best since he’s spoiled rich and a nationally ranked fencer. He’s been asking for a fight since the beginning of the year.”

The other boy laughed at this which only amplified Nicholas’s anger. Seiji was by no means a people person, but he wasn’t an “arrogant asshole.” He wasn’t any of those things.

“Someone probably just told Seiji off by saying what everyone is thinking: that he’s only a good fencer cause he’s got a personal coach that his daddy pays good money for—"

Nick spun around on his heel and didn’t even let the boy finish whatever shit was going to come out of his mouth. How could they talk about Seiji like that?

Nick swung his fist until it collided with the boy’s jaw. The other boy ran upon seeing his friend fall. Nick didn’t try going after him because the boy he’d just hit was already fighting back. He shoved Nick and Nick stumbled back, moving off the pathway between buildings and onto the grass.

The boy’s fist rammed into Nick’s temple, hard enough to make half of Nick’s face throb. He blinked away the pain near his eye. Then Nick lunged for the boy and tackled him to the ground.

“Fuck you,” Nick swore. For a brief moment he was back in his old public school, fighting anyone who spoke bad about his mother or his friends, and was seemingly asking for detention. He could hear Coach Joe’s advice to avoid fights if for no other reason than to be able to fence. But Nick didn’t care. He fought for those he cared about.

Nick hadn’t really known until now that Seiji was one of them. Seiji Katayama, of all people.

Nick considered Seiji a friend, a new one but a good one. And he also considered Seiji a rival, at least in terms of fencing. No one was allowed to say such awful things about Seiji in Nick’s presence if Nick could help it. And he could, by using his fists.

“Get off me, asshole,” the boy said, struggling beneath Nick.

“No,” Nick said. His anger was still fuming behind his expression. “Just because you didn’t make the fencing team doesn’t give you the right to speak that way about Seiji. Everyone knows he’s the best fencer we have here and he’s the best because he trains so hard. Fuck, he wakes up at four in the morning for extra practice. That’s not something money can buy. He practices like--”

Before the boy could argue back, Nick heard a loud voice echo across campus followed by a sharp whistle. “Stop! That’s enough, boys. Break it up,” a security guard shouted to them. Nick recognized him as Mr. Brown.

Nick stood up and released the other boy. A large group of students had been watching their fight and had most likely heard everything Nick said. Nick turned his attention to Mr. Brown, not the other students. Whatever they would say didn’t matter. He didn’t regret what he did.

“Who wants to tell me why you two started fighting?” Mr. Brown asked, his arms crossed. He was already eying Nick, since he’d been the one to stop Nick’s last fight too.

Nick was more than happy to explain. “He was insulting another student, Seiji Katayama.”

The other boy didn’t deny it. He only pointed to Nick and said, “Well, he punched me first.”

Nick didn’t deny that either.

Mr. Brown just shook his head in disapproval. Nick and the other boy followed the security guard into the nurse’s office and were given ice packs, which Nick immediately pressed into his eye. It was definitely going to be bruised. He’d have to explain it to Seiji somehow.

Nick entered the principal’s office first where he saw Principal Eisler looking at him with clasped hands and a disapproving glance. “Hello, Nicholas,” she said. “It’s been quite a day for fights it seems. Please tell me what happened.”

Nick nodded and explained everything. He admitted that he punched first, but he also told her what the other boys had said about Seiji.

After a moment of silence between them, Principal Eisler spoke. “Next time defend Seiji in a manner that does not involve physical contact. I know you have a history of fighting here on your record from your old school, but I would hope it’s a habit you can break here. Your scholarship is dependent on fencing, but also on your character at school."

Nick nodded and mumbled an apology.

“I’m going to give you detention after school along with John. Go to the cafeteria after school for detention. You are dismissed.”

Nick picked up his red detention slip, ice pack, and backpack then left. The mention of his scholarship was enough to make him calm down finally. He couldn’t lose it and give up fencing. Fencing was his dream. But even with his scholarship on the line, defending Seiji had felt right. It still did.

Seiji knew Nick had a scholarship and that he wasn’t by any means rich. Nick hadn’t tried to hide it and Seiji hadn’t tried to take advantage of that. Seiji hadn’t even teased him for it, though that was setting the bar incredibly low.

Seiji didn’t flaunt his wealth or the opportunities he had gotten because of his family in everyone’s faces. He was the best fencer at Kings Row because he’d been practicing relentlessly since he was a kid. Seiji didn’t have to really try during tryouts to make the team but he did. Nothing Seiji got was given to him. He earned his place at Kings Row and Nick had wanted to make sure no one made the mistake of saying otherwise.

Nick told himself that was the reason he had defended Seiji so quickly. They were roommates, teammates, and now friends. But when Nick thought of Seiji, he felt something perhaps stronger than friendship. He remembered Seiji’s gentle hands on his shoulder blades during practice. He remembered wanting to hug Seiji after hearing his surprised voice when Nick called him a champion.

Nick shrugged off the thought. It was becoming a bad habit of his to think about Seiji like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Nick hadn’t been able to find Seiji at lunch, as he’d been planning to. He wanted to know what happened to Seiji, if he was alright, and what the fight was about. But Seiji was nowhere to be seen and Nick and Bobby had searched the cafeteria twice.

“What if he’s eating somewhere else?” Bobby suggested, trying his best to help.

“No matter how motivated Seiji is to ignore me, he would never eat lunch outside. He’s too worried about grass stains on his clothes.”

“I could say the exact opposite for you,” Bobby said with a laugh. Bobby’s eyes trailed Nick’s uniform which was still dirtied from the fight. Nick knew he was looking straight at the grass stains on his sleeve.

“Did you hear about what happened to Seiji?” Nick asked Bobby, scanning the cafeteria a third time.

Bobby shook his head. “I just heard he got detention.”

“Detention?” Nick asked. Seiji in detention was never something Nick expected. He gave up searching for Seiji and realized detention would be the perfect time to ask Seiji what had happened. All he’d have to do is wait a few more hours.

The three hours between lunch and detention went by painstakingly slow, but finally Nick heard the last bell of the day and made his way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria janitors had moved the chairs in a few rows that were all facing three teachers. Nick didn’t recognize any of them and judging by their bored expressions, they didn’t want to be here any more than he did.

Nick saw four other boys enter. Nick ignored the boy, John, who’d punched him earlier but took his time glaring at the other three. Who was the one who hurt Seiji? Nick hoped it was the brown haired boy with a large bruise forming on his left cheek because it looked like it hurt the most.

Nick watched for Seiji to come through the door. Three minutes later, Seiji did. His eyes widened at the sight of Nick, though considering Nick’s history of getting detention Seiji shouldn’t have been so surprised. Seiji sat in a different row than Nick and in the chair farthest from him. Nick was about to stand to sit next to him when one of the teachers began talking, reading from a red folder in his hands.

“You are all here for detention. Detention will last two hours. Each of you will be given a task and then your assigned teacher will sign off on your slip after your task is complete. Any questions?” He asked without any emotion in his tone. “No? Good. We have already divided up you boys into groups of two. Charlie and Matt, you will help Ms. Tammy with organizing the English textbooks in the storage closet. John and Ezra, you will help Mr. Jacobs with trash and recycling. Seiji and Nicholas, you will help your coach clean the fencing salle. At five fifteen meet me back here to turn in your slips. You’re all dismissed.”

Seiji walked up to Nick with crossed arms. “I have a lot of homework today so let’s get this over with.”

Nick couldn’t agree more but he knew there was something off about Seiji. Seiji wouldn’t meet his eyes. Nick and Seiji began their walk to the salle in silence. Nick glanced over at Seiji to examine his injuries. “Were you hurt?” Nick asked.

“You saw me earlier, didn’t you?” Seiji asked, an edge to his voice. Nick swallowed his nerves. He was used to Seiji’s tone, but he hadn’t heard it directed at him in a few weeks. They’d been getting closer ever since the practice match with MLC.

“I saw you,” Nick said. “I just meant... does it still hurt now?”

“It’s fine,” Seiji said in a low voice. “Does yours hurt?”

Nick shrugged. “It’s not the worst I’ve gotten. So what was the fight about?”

Seiji paused for a moment and just stared at Nick’s bruise. “It was nothing. Ezra and Matthew were just saying stupid things.” Seiji glanced away from Nick and further down the path to the salle.

Nick nodded but he couldn’t help but wonder if Seiji wasn’t telling him the whole truth. Whenever Nick got too close to the truth, Seiji would turn away or go silent. That’s what Seiji had done when Nick brought up Jesse.

Nick forced thoughts of Jesse out of his head. Jesse and Seiji were the last thing he wanted to think of.

They made their way into the salle that was empty save for Coach Williams who was waiting for them with her arms crossed. Today was the one day they had a night practice and not practice after school.

“So I heard both of you got detention today,” she said, glancing between the two of them. Nick saw she was holding a few papers in her hands. “Nick, I thought after I found you out past curfew you’d have learned your lesson with detention,” she said, disapproving but not angry.

Nick shrugged. “You should’ve heard them—"

“I know,” Coach Williams said, holding up the papers, “Principal Eisler sent me the reports of what happened for both your cases.”

She glanced between the two once again. Nick was momentarily confused at what she was indicating but by the time he thought to ask a question, Coach Williams had a broom and dustpan in his hands and a rag and cleaning spray in Seiji’s.

She stared at the floor, which even Nick had to admit was filthy, and sighed. “The next time Aiden or one of his fans brings a cupcake in here I’m going to lose it.”

Nick fully expected to see an additional rule about food to Coach’s wall of rules at practice tonight.

“Start sweeping and dusting now and I’ll let you out early so you two can get some homework done before practice today.”

Seiji and Nick both answered with “Yes, Coach.”

Nick slumped off his backpack and began sweeping. Seiji began dusting off some old equipment in the corner. Coach Williams trusted them enough to work on their own while she did paperwork in the back. Nick and Seiji were alone.

Nick had forgotten how much he hated sweeping. He cleaned as a side job for his Coach Joe but he was still awful at sweeping. He at least expected a fancy school like Kings Row to invest in a vacuum instead but he had no such luck.

Half an hour passed of Seiji working quietly in the corner and Nick attempting to sweep. Seiji set his supplies down, grabbed a second broom, and walked over to Nick. To Nick’s dismay, Seiji actually helped. Though not without an insult. “I’m surprised you know how to clean. You keep your side of our room absolutely filthy.” “I used to clean in exchange for fencing lessons,” Nick said. “And I keep my side clean.”

Seiji arched his brows.

“Clean enough,” Nick mumbled and rolled his eyes.

Seiji continued sweeping but stopped a few minutes later. He was staring at Nick like Nick couldn’t even see him. Despite himself, Nick liked that Seiji was looking at him. He’d yelled at Seiji so many times to look at him. To look at him like he was Nick and not Jesse. To see him.

“What?” He asked Seiji.

Seiji’s cheeks flushed slightly. “You tense your shoulders even when you’re not fencing.”

Nick rolled out his shoulders to try and loosen them. “Guess I still need practice,” he said, smiling in equal parts nervousness and embarrassment. He’d been working on relaxing his shoulders ever since Seiji had helped him, but it was a hard habit to break.

Seiji stepped behind Nick and put his hands on his shoulders. They were gentle but commanding, like they told Nick exactly how to relax but he’d forget how once Seiji let him go.

Nick knew he was blushing red now, but he didn’t know if Seiji could see it.

“Better,” Seiji said and promptly removed his hands.

Nick cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

They walked onto the last corner of the salle they hadn’t swept yet and began.

“Did you think Coach was looking at us strangely before?” Seiji asked.

Nick nodded and laughed. “I noticed. It’s called disappointment. You’ll get used to it if you make a habit of detention like me.”

Seiji nudged Nick’s leg lightly with the broom handle. “I meant the look she kept giving between us.”

Nick thought back and remembered her look right after she was looking at the papers. “Maybe Coach was referring to the reports? What exactly did Ezra and Matthew say?”

Seiji glared at the floor. “I already said it was stupid. What about your report?”

Nick continued sweeping only to distract himself. Part of him wanted to explain what happened, but the other part didn’t know if Seiji would react well to the truth. The truth being that Nick had defended him because he felt… strongly about Seiji. “It was stupid too,” Nick ended up saying.

“Well, you do have a habit of getting into fights,” Seiji remarked, “I’m not surprised it’s over something stupid.”

Nick felt his control slipping as he opened his mouth. He still didn’t regret the fight, no matter the bruise on his face, the detention, or Seiji's attitude. “Fine,” Nick said with a smirk playing at his lips, “You want to know what the fight was about?”

Seiji was silent.

“It was about you.” Nick went back to sweeping as if he’d said nothing.

Seiji’s hand clamped on the broom to get Nick’s attention. “What?” He asked in a voice too calm and collected to match his body’s tension.

Nick stared at him. “You’re the one tensing your shoulders now.”

Seiji didn’t bother relaxing his posture. “What do you mean the fight was about me?”

“I mean that that asshole John was talking shit about you and I lost it,” Nick said.

“What was he saying?” Seiji asked. He didn’t seem defensive when he asked, only curious. After a moment when Nick was still silent, Seiji pestered on. “Well?”

Nick sighed. “He called you arrogant and said you were only good at fencing because of your expensive training—“

“They’re right,” Seiji interrupted. His expression was still calm.

Nick blinked. “What?”

“I do come off as arrogant,” Seiji said. “I’ve heard it before. I take things too seriously so I’m reserved and people associate such with arrogance. As for money... I am spoiled. I know my family is more than just well off and that Dmytro has helped me improve greatly since I was little. Why did you fight John for saying such?” Seiji’s mouth twitched a little before forming a line. He was avoiding Nick’s eyes again too.

Nick hadn’t expected Seiji to take on those insults with such honesty. But still those insults weren’t true. Not really.

“Seiji,” Nick started, “you may be arrogant, but you can’t give the credit for your success all to Dmytro or your family. You’re... you’re an amazing fencer and you’re just that because you work yourself half to death, waking up at an ungodly hour—“

“Four in the morning isn’t that early.”

“No other sixteen year old will ever believe you when you say that,” Nick said. “But that’s not the point. The point is I don’t regret picking a fight over you and I fought back because I see how hard you train and how much you care. I didn’t see it clearly until Jesse came but--” Nick swallowed hard when he realized he was still talking and needed to take a breath. “And I think caring about fencing is more important than being skilled, which you are too.”

Seiji was silent for a moment when his cheeks began to flush again. “I don’t need you defending me.”

“Well, I—” Nick tried.

“I’m not finished,” Seiji said. “I don’t need you defending me, but if I said that then I am quite the hypocrite.”

“I don’t get it,” Nick said, wondering where Seiji was going. Seiji had now admitted he was arrogant, spoiled, and a hypocrite.

Seiji crossed his arms. “I got in my fight because of you. They were insulting you and going on about elitist bullshit. Then they started talking about the team and I... lost it,” Seiji said, mirroring Nick’s choice of words.

Nick was speechless at first. Seiji never fought with anyone, never threw the first punch. Even in the storage closet, Nick had punched first. But Seiji just admitted to fighting for Nick. Something in Nick’s stomach tightened at the thought. “Why did you defend me?” he asked.

Seiji’s cheeks were still flushed. “For the same reasons you defended me. I didn’t want to admit it at first, but I admire how much care you have for fencing. You take it as seriously as I do and you’ve never ridiculed me for it either.”

Nick grinned and wrapped his arms around Seiji. He’d been spending more time with Bobby and Eugene, who were both notorious for their constant hugs. “Aw, Seiji, that was sweet.” Seiji was stiff at first, but Nick felt him relax after a moment. It was the least Nick could do, he figured, since both of them had gotten beat up for the other today.

Seiji groaned, wriggling out his arms. “I’m done defending you.”

Nick laughed and released him. “Good. You don’t have to defend me. I know you’re a perfect student and I wouldn’t want to be the reason you get in trouble.”

Seiji nodded. “Likewise. If you go to detention too many times, they could revoke your scholarship. I read that in the school’s rulebook.”

“There’s a rulebook?”

Seiji rolled his eyes. “I mean it. I don’t want to be the reason you leave Kings Row. Especially since I am the reason you came in the first place.” Nick blushed at the indication before realizing it wasn’t much of a secret. He’d told Seiji the first night in their room that he’d come to Kings Row to beat Seiji who was supposed to be at Exton. Seiji was telling him now that he wanted Nick to stay.

Nick shrugged off the thought and suggested, “Then let's make a new habit instead of fights. Let me train with you.”

“You want to wake up at four in the morning?” Seiji asked. Nothing about his tone suggested he believed Nick in the slightest.

“God, no,” Nick said. “And I don’t want to ruin your schedule with Dmytro either. But when you train alone, can I come?”

“I can’t stop you from coming. The salle is open to all members of the fencing team.”

Nick grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Why do I have a feeling I am going to regret this?” Seiji asked, still crossing his arms and staring right at Nick’s grin.

“Because you’ve called me annoying— amongst other things— in the past,” Nick said with a shrug he knew would annoy Seiji. “Or maybe it’s because our new habit of training together will finally make you see me as a rival?”

“A rival?” Seiji asked. “Is that what you want to be?” Nick’s breath hitched for a moment. “I wanted you to see me. As me and not Jesse.”

Seiji smiled a little at Nick’s confession. He traced a hand against the bruise on Nick’s temple, light enough that it didn’t hurt. “I see you, Nicholas.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my first fic if you've made it this far lol! You're all awesome and so supportive!


End file.
